7 Must-See Plant-Based Documentaries

Documentaries are one of the most effective ways to get the plant-based message to reach a wider audience.

They combine scientific fact with real-life examples of people who have benefited from changing their diet.

Sharing the direct connection between what we eat and health has the potential to revolutionise how people think about food. And documentaries are one of the most powerful mediums at conveying that message.

People respond to the stories and facts presented to them. Being able to see and identify with individuals who share similarities with themselves makes it that much more real. More relevant.

Creating large scale change within society around food and health is possible. Education is the first, and most important step to getting there.

These plant-based, health-minded documentaries are leading the way.

7 Must-See Plant-Based Documentaries:

1) Forks Over Knives (2011)

One of the most popular plant-based documentaries to date, Forks Over Knives presents the plant-based diet as a cure for many of the most common chronic diseases. Interviews with a number of the leading plant-based doctors means the information is coming from those who have first-hand experience seeing what a plant-based diet can do. Particularly for avoiding and reversing heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, commitment and adherence to a whole food, plant-based lifestyle has proven itself up to challenge time and again.

Medicine is not something that comes in a pill bottle, it’s what you put on your plate. Rather than “treat” the symptoms of chronic disease, a diet focused on whole, plant foods has the potential to reverse it altogether. Plus, eating fewer animal products, or eliminating them altogether is better for the animals and the planet. It’s a win-win on all fronts. The future of health care is diet-based and Forks Over Knives tells you why. Watch the trailer.

2) Vegucated (2011)

Vegucated follows six people testing out a vegan diet for six weeks. However, during their six weeks of eating 100% plant-based, their journey becomes more than just about food. While familiarising themselves with plant-based meals, they are also educated about health, animal agriculture, and the effects large scale animal farming has on the environment. In particular, they learn where animal products really come from and the processes involved before those products arrive on the table.

Eating more plant-based meals is one thing, but learning about where animal-based foods really come from can provide extra incentive. Understanding the impacts of their choices can motivate people to make more permanent changes to their diet and the way they think about food. Watch the Vegucated trailer.

3) Eating You Alive (2016)

Focusing on curing chronic disease with a plant based diet, Eating You Alive brings the conversation about food and health front and centre. The filmmakers interview health professionals as well as individuals who have experienced first-hand how a plant-based diet has dramatically improved their health.

Accomplishing what prescription medications couldn’t, people’s lives are changed more than they imagined possible. Once they realise how important the food they eat is to health, the power is placed back in their hands. They are no longer “victims” of their genetics, or the pharmaceutical industry. Once people make the connection between food and health, their world can be changed completely. Watch the trailer.

4) Food Choices (2016)

Food Choices documents the effects our food choices have on our health, the animals, and the planet. Bringing awareness to a plant-based diet, the film highlights the importance of realising that what we put on our plate has a much larger impact.

Our relationship with food has been influenced by marketing and misleading information about health. As a result, the foods we have often become most familiar with and used to are many of the most harmful to us and the planet. Having experienced the benefits of plant-based living, the filmmaker aspires to share the power of plants with a much greater audience.

Follow the filmmaker across the US to find out the truth about what is the healthiest diet for us and the future of the planet. Your relationship with food will likely be changed forever. One thing you will learn for sure, is that the ability and dedication to change the world, and our health starts with our Food Choices. Watch the trailer.

5) What The Health (2017)

From the filmmakers of Cowspiracy,What The Health critiques the motivations shown by the health and pharmaceutical industries. As financial interests are repeatedly prioritised over acknowledging the negative impact that animal products have on human health, their priorities seem contrary to what they should be. Focusing on the debilitating chronic diseases that an overwhelming number of Americans are experiencing, What The Health shares how a plant-based diet has the potential to completely change the health of a nation and the world.

All that needs to happen first is for people to understand the connection between plant foods and health. Taking the power away from those who wield it with little regard for sharing the truth, and putting it back in the hands of each individual. Realising that what you put on your plate can impact and improve your health more than prescription pills ever could means the control is yours. With the right knowledge and awareness, your weekly trip to the grocery store can replace any need to go to the pharmacy. This film aspires to make people more aware of the motives behind many of the leading health organisations in the US. Watch the film’s trailer.

6) PlantPure Nation (2015)

This documentary pulls the curtain back on the corporate interests behind the food industry and how that influences laws and social norms. PlantPure Nation highlights the importance of a whole food, plant-based diet for health along with the challenges in bringing that message to mainstream society.

Traveling across the United States, the filmmakers draw awareness to how a plant-based diet can cure many of the country’s most common chronic diseases—sowing the seeds for a plant-based revolution. If only the powers that be had the same commitment to truth and to increasing the health of the nation. But change doesn’t come easily, nor quickly. All you can do is get the momentum started, by educating people about the link between diet and health, which is what this film hopes to do. Watch the PlantPure Nation trailer.

7) Chow Down (2010)

Chow Down is the journey of three people who attempt to reverse their heart disease and diabetes by adhering to a plant-based diet. Taking matters into their own hands, they go against the grain of conventional medicine. Facing challenges from society and long-held habits, they see if they can stick to their resolution. Along the way, the documentary features interviews with plant-based doctors including: Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., T. Colin Campbell, and Joel Fuhrman. Watch the trailer.

All of these documentaries cover one important thing: plant foods are the future. Our health, the lives of other animals, and the health of the planet, are all impacted by what we eat. So changing things for the better starts with what we put on our plate.